Lawyers representing Lucy Achiro, the newly elected Member of Parliament for Aruu North constituency have withdrawn the election petition case filed at Gulu High Court.
In a miscellaneous application No. 21 of 2016, filed at Gulu High Court, Achiro through her lawyers had asked court to block the recounting of votes after the magistrates court in Kitgum granted her rival Nabinson Kidega Nock’s prayer to have the votes recounted. Achiro beat Mr Kidega with only two votes.
Today morning, one of Achiro’s lawyers, Conrad Oroya, informed Lady Justice Margret Mutonyi, the Gulu resident High Court judge that they have withdrawn the election petition case.
Oroya explained that they have withdrawn the application because the evidence has been tampered with. Oroya argued that ballot boxes, declaration forms for elections results and ballot papers which they intended to use as evidence was destroyed by angry residents of Aruu North. He said the evidence was destroyed in the presence of police, election officials and members of the public. He accordingly stated that ordering for a recount of the votes will be a miscarriage of justice on the part of his client.
On Monday angry residents of Aruu North allegedly also including the MP- elect, Lucy Aciro destroyed voting materials that were destined for a recount in Pader Magistrate’s court, located a stone throw away from Pader Central Police.
Walter Okidi Ladwar, a lawyer for James Nabinson Kidega, who filed an application challenging the outcome of the results, blamed the applicant (Achiro) and her supporters for destroying the evidences.
Ladwar accused Aruu South County MP elect, Odonga Otto and the newly elected MP Achiro for mobilising the youth to raid the police station where the ballots boxes were being kept to disrupt the vote recount.
Ladwar further alleges that even the judicial officials were not spared during the violence which saw at least four ballot boxes destroyed.
The officer in charge of the station, Romeo Onek Ojara, also accused the duo of being behind the police raid.
Ojara said the two leaders will be charged with malicious damage of government properties, tresspass and disrupting of vote recount ordered by court.
However, both Otto and Achiro have denied the accusations and instead tasked Kidega’s legal team to produce evidence to that effect instead of relying on what they termed a ‘‘smear campaigns.’’
In her ruling, Justice Mutonyi granted the request of Achiro’s lawyers saying they have saved court’s time and resources.
However she did not award any cost of the suit to either of the parties saying they should bear their own cost of filling the application.
